The International Women's Society of Nigeria Presents Its Humanitarian of the Year Award to Africa.com CEO Teresa Clarke

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Signaling the growing importance of Nigeria as an economic and technological powerhouse, a prestigious 54-year old Nigerian women’s organization honors the CEO of the fastest-growing Web site devoted to changing the way the world engages with Africa on line, Africa.com

Multinational companies want to sell their products and services to the increasingly wealthy population in Nigeria. This means that IWS’ role is that much more important as Nigeria integrates itself into the global economy.

New York, NY (PRWEB)November 11, 2011

President Cecilia Aqua Umoren, the Executive Committee and Board of the International Women’s Society (IWS) of Nigeria presented their Humanitarian of the Year Award to Africa.com Chairman and CEO Teresa Clarke on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.
Attorney Olayimika Phillips, a partner at Olaniwun Ajayi & Co, where she heads the enterprise practice as well as corporate affairs, planning and strategy, accepted the award on behalf of her long-time friend. Ms. Clarke had to be in South Africa for a meeting involving the education non-profit which she co-founded, the Student Sponsorship Programme (http://www.ssp.org.za/ ). However, she will be in Nigeria next week and plans to thank President Umoren in person.
In her prepared remarks, Ms. Clarke praised the 54-year old International Women’s Society of Nigeria for its long history and its commitment to child care for working mothers, library services, and assisting the unemployed attain skills to enter the workforce. She said that future demands on the organization will be significant, given major trends domestically as well as internationally.
Ms. Clarke cited the United Nations’ projection that by the end of this century, Nigeria will be one of the three largest countries in the world, based on current population and fertility rates.
Said Ms. Clarke: “It will be hard for the Nigerian government to keep up with the demands that this population growth will place on social services. Helping the Nigerian government serve the needs of women by providing day nurseries, homes for abandoned babies, library services, scholarships, skills training and the very important widow’s fund, will be essential as the Nigerian population grows, and the needs of Nigeria’s women increase accordingly.The work that IWS does for women in Nigeria will grow in its importance over the next 100 years.”
Ms. Clarke also reflected on the IWS’ increasingly important role in fostering relations across international borders, especially now that numerous global companies are “moving into Nigeria to serve Nigerians, not extract its natural resources.” She noted that multinational companies “want to sell their products and services to the increasingly wealthy, and ever growing large population in Nigeria. They want to sell Nigerians their burgers, their cars, their clothes, and provide Nigerians with their computers, entertainment, and communications.” She added: “ These new global companies moving into Nigeria must develop meaningful, long term relationships in Nigeria, with the Nigerian people, in order to achieve success. They must know who these people are, understand them, and befriend them. The human aspect of this type of business is essential for their success. All of this means that IWS’ role is that much more important as Nigeria integrates itself into the global economy. “

About Africa.com: Africa.com is the fastest growing Africa-related internet site with 1 million+ unique visitors each month from around the world. Visitors have access to financial, political and cultural news, maps, information about world-wide events and non-profit organizations related to Africa as well as views from opinion-leaders.
Africa.comDEALS is Africa.com’s social coupon site, offering huge discounts on products that represent the dynamism, entrepreneurship and high quality of the African continent.
Africa.com has partnered with a number of best-in-class content providers including the Council on Foreign Relations, Foreign Affairs and HAND/EYE Magazines, McKinsey and Co., Harvard University’s Committee on African Studies, the Brookings Institution’s Africa Growth Initiative, Freedom House and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Additional partnerships will be announced shortly.